Structural glass article



Nov. 25, 1952 G. B. wATKlNs STRUCTURAL GLAss ARTICLE Filed April 24, 1948 am. A f ..1 .l .fn/...4.11, ff ..4 t L .v

v Snventor 65e/i5 E. wam/N6.

.4 u KJ (Ittorneg Patented Nov. 25, 1952 STRUCTURAL GLASS ARTICLE George B. Watkins, Toledo, Ohio, assigner to Libbey-Owens-Ford Glass Company, Toledo, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application April 24, 1948, Serial No. 23,095

(Cl. l2-35) 4 Claims.

The present invention relates to structural glass or similar vitreous material, to the backing or mounting thereof, and to a special adhesive material for this purpose.

It is a continuation in part of my copending application Serial No. 608,165, filed August 1, 1945, now abandoned.

In the past, considerable difficulty has been encountered in satisfactorily and permanently mounting structural glass panels such as Vitrolite, for example, on walls and other surfaces. For one thing, the individual panels of this structural glass are usually of much greater area than are individual pieces of ceramic tile or. similar competitive wall facing materials, and involve a great deal more weight -that has to be supported.

Then too, the mastics that have been commonly used to back or secure such facing panels in place expand and contract under the influence of varying temperature conditions. This expansion and contraction is considerable and more or less continuous during normal use of the facing, especially in the case of building exteriors. Consequently, a correspondingly severe and continual strain is exerted on the bond between the glass and mastic, and between the mastic and the wall, which strain frequently results in breaking of the bond, or cracking of the panel itself, or both. Moreover, when the mastic used contains solvents, as is usually the case, their evaporation leads to additional shrinkage, let-go areas, and a general decrease in adhesion.

According to this invention, a special kind of adhesive backing is employed in a manner calculated to overcome all of these former difficulties.

Briefly stated, the new backing material is a cold setting, Thiokol base, synthetic resin adhesive which, in addition to other desirable properties, has remarkable adherence to glass when used either as a backing alone or as a means for securing the surface of a glass article or panel to another surface. v

An important object of the invention isthe provision of an adhesive of the above character, for backing, mounting or securing, articles to structural glass, that is a 100% solids material and so substantially free from solvents; `that is of mounting slabs and panels, as a facing on a wall or the like, quickly, simply, efficiently and economically, without any special preparation of the supporting wall or surface, and without the necessity of using heavy loads of mortar or thick masses o1' gobs of plastic.

Still another object is to provide a method or procedure for securing mountings, fixtures, or the like to structural glass surfaces in a neat and efcient manner without the use of mechanical fastening means.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent during the course of the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.`

In the drawings wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary sectional view showing one way of mounting a glass slab or facing panel on a wall in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing an alternate way of mounting the slabs or panels;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary section through a Glastone type of load bearing building block wherein the Vitrolite panel is secured to the cestable, ductile, elastic, resistant to weathering and chemical attack; and which exhibits practically no expansion or shrinkage under changing temperature conditions. y

Another object is to provide a method of backing structural glass slabs, panels or other articles in a manner to increase their resistance to fracture from shocks or blows, and to reduce breakage due to handling, mounting, etc., to a minimum.

A further object is the provision of a methodl mentitious backing by my invention;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of a structural glass tile provided with a fiberboard or similar type backing secured thereto according to this invention;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional View of a laminated ordouble faced structural glass panel of the sort used in toilet stalls and partitions, with the two glass plates of the composite unit being joined together by the adhesive backing of the invention;

Fig. 6 is a View showing a bathroom fixture secured to a glass wall by the same material; .and

Fig. 7 is a vertical section through an ash tray made of structural glass and provided with a base of my special backing material.

As pointed out above, the adhesive backing material employed in this invention has a Thiokol" base. Generally speaking, "Thiokol is an olefin polysulphide type of synthetic resin; or, differently stated, it is a reaction product obtained from the interaction of an olefin halide, such as ethylene'dichloride, and an alkali or alkaline earth sulfide. vSome types of Thiokol may be made from other organic dihalides such as glycerol dichlorohydrin or dichlorodiethyl ether. However, vI prefer to use a partially polymerized or cured Thiokol such as that manufactured by the Thiokol Corporation of Trenton, New Jersey, as type L. P. 2.

This particular type of Thiokol is a polyfunctional mercaptan, the -SH terminals of which are extremely reactive. It can be purchased as a viscous liquid about 400 poises in viscosity at 25 C., and can be readily polymerized to a rm, resilient, rubber-like material. Although free of solvents, it can Vbe applied as a liquid in placesinaccessi'ble to usual rubberflike materials and converted in place with little, if any, shrinkage. material is as follows:

The average structure of the,

Occasionally in the chain of reoccurringwunits't there is a side mercaptan group.

For the present purpose, this poly-functional mercaptan, partially polymerized, is compounded v with carbon black and other waxes and resins to give it body. Up to this point the resultant material will have many desirablezproperties, ;but`its.

adhesionvto glass. is Arelativelypo'or; VHowever,

by--further compounding it with a `Bakelitertype:y of resin,' al substance having really'remarkable properties of adhesion, not onlyltoglass.:bututo other materials as well, is obtained'.

'Speciiicallm I preferl to Y use-La thermosetting phenol formaldehyde 'in lthe` liquid state "asfthe" Bakelite ftype resin," and 'vary lthe proportions' of theseveral materials to suit the degree-loff-fviscosity, adhesion and so forth that isdesi'redfor the particular job at'hand. For all around use,

I-havev found ya compound ormixture that hasa corlsistf'encyapproxim'ating that of brous grease;-

at ordinary temperatures, to-` be 'thefbest-.d

' For example; al mixturey of from'55 %f -tof 60%1of phenol formaldehyde, and approximately 30%v`r carbonblack gives a mix of this'generallyfdesira- 'ble-consistency.v Theseamountsmay of course be variedy where-differentconsistencies are f preferred, but it is always desired-toI maintain` a preponderance fof the poly-functional -mereaptan f in the mix.

AnA appropriateflength of time before 'the materialfis to besapplied; it must'be mixed with an accelerator. Forexam-ple, lead peroxide that-has been `finely' ground andfsuspended in or preferably-justA wetted Avwith' an organicI liquid suchvas toluene'or'xyleneis `verylsatisfactoryi Without'- the addition of the accelerator the compound-will I notjsetup or harden, even afterextended' eX- posure to the atmosphere,-but by usingthelproper amount/ of-accelerator it'can be made-'tO-setup cold irl-whatever timeis desired. IIovvever,-careu should be used not toemploy too-much acce1' erator because amounts above 15% tend/tddecrease theadhesionof themateria'l:

I prefer to mix 115 parts of acceleratorfwithdOO parts. of the'mercaptanellerthermosetting resin compound; This `mixture is workable onaputty knife for ,about oneghourgat"ordinary-tempertures; and setsY toma'tackfreerubber=like-mate rial inapproximatelyfour'hours:V

In" facingV wallswith .vitrolitesla'bs las showrr'in d Fig; 1" of the drawings; for1instance, a; batchof .1

the" compound L after beingl Y properly :mixedv` with",

the) accelerator, is 'applied ,inV a. relatiyelymthin' unifor'rn coatingi lto theA back of Aa ,structural g1ass-slabII, 'and` the backed'or coated sidefof the ,slab -is thenpressed into place. against vthe' Wall.ll2.tobefaced The special `adhesive back-1 ingmaterial'adheres. tightly to plaster, masonry or practically any, other kind ofwallsurface,andL

no preparatory work need be done on the .wall prior tothe application of l.the glass facing.,

In setting large panels of this type with ordinary mastics, it is customary to provide some sort of support for the panels until the mastic has hardened. Such a supporting means can be used here too, but the adhesive of this invention willsupport the` panel unaided in approximately one hours time. Within this period, although it has not become tack-free, the material will have setto such a degree that its adhesion and bodyY `aresuiciently strong to prevent any movement obtainedby thismethod thatfis just asfsatisfac-VA tory as the other. The advantage of the secondA method is thatthe l'prebacked glass "slab is "con- 'sidera-bly more. resistant` to breakage ithanfan unbacked one and consequently cani-be'-s'hipped andhandledwithless risk.v I Moreover,v `in thecase of-a prebacked-paneL itis possible' to iutilize'fa thinnery glass eplate; which will 'lbe Y bothvl cheaper to -prod-ucefandlighter inweight. i Regardless ofV Whether plain or prebacked 4'slabs are employed,

the fouri edges vof each shouldbe buttered'with'a Y suitable :jointf cement `AI Sebeforel settings, -t'liemnin InsteadHr of* applyingd the-'- adhesiva-backing1tothe Vtile -itse'lf ,"1 as vdescribeddnl thejitwo-methods above; 'equallyfgoodfresultscanbepbtained jby"y troweling thematerialdir'ectly onto the'y wall; or onto both the tile Vand-'the wall: 'HoWever,eifec-'- tive `adhesioncannot-'beobtained if t-hej material is appliedV toa moist surface. Nevertheless, a structural glass slab thatY has been "prebacked' withit-he iadhesive'of theginvention; and thema-1 terialthenallowedeto'settup; canl be'satisfa'ctorily/ mountedfon a wall, byY either'a-wetowcoat or*V with an' application'V of *regularrplasterg' as indie'` catediinFig: 2 of the drawings;r f

As'thereshown;l a-slabvv I 4 which has vbeen pre-v float coatA I1 which istpreferablyxa".wetpcement and sand mix. Alternatively, Y the". same" result can',be' had byjusingfplasteryof' Paris," or Port,-

land i cement i mortar in place of the 1 float coat at.I'I' Avery excellent bond isobtained in this manner, .but even 'better results; are gained by usingwa prebacked tile in j which.r` dry plaster Yhas been embedded inltheiexposed face of ,the layer Y I 5;. This is preferably;accomplished.byspriniV kling the plaster onto the' layer of @backing ma: terial while it is .setting.,up at. the ,factory..

In Eig. 3 'there hasbeen.illustratedthe manner in ywhich the present inventionnnayY be. employed to secure the ornamental glass facings tolsof.. calledLGlastone.,blocks.i, These. blockstareacload bearing-type of cementitious..buildinglfunit com?- prising a, .backing portionA I 8 -to the ,.front., face, of 'whichjs secured. an- `opaqueglassor vitrolitef... covering I9, by means of.ancadhesive.,2.0and`.

metal edge holdersk 2|. The lexactconstructon of these .blocks and. Athe preferred method of makingthem .is described in detail in ,thelpatent toErleT." Putnam, No. 2,235,1714issuedMarch 18, 1941, `and the same procedure is. followed in the present instance, except that the specialgadhesive backing of this invention is substituted for the asphaltic mastic cement of Putnam.

The particular compound of poly-functional mercaptan, ller materials, and thermosetting resin, when mixed with an accelerator as described here, has proved in actual tests to be unusually satisfactory in mounting structural glass facings onto walls with any and all of the methods set forth above. In addition to the permanency and stability of its adhesive properties, the mixture has the advantage of'being a 100% solids material, or more clearly expressed, a substantially solvent-free mix. Consequently, there are no solvents to evaporate and cause shrinkage and to set up other conditions detrimental to adhesion. As an adhesive or backing itis practically impervious to weathering because it resists attacks from moisture and ultraviolet light, and exhibits little or no expansion and contraction at high or low temperatures. At the same time it is sufliciently resilient to compensate for any slight movement that may occur between the glass facing and the main body of the wall. It also successfully resists most of the other things by which this type of structure may be attacked, i. e., oils, weak acids, bases, etc.

In addition to functioning as a backing by itself, this material is also valuable in securing other backing materials to glass panels or the like as shown in Fig. 4. The unit shown there comprises a vitrolite or similar slab 22 adhered to a backing of insulating or similar board 23 by a layer of the adhesive backing material 24. Suitable mechanical fasteners 25 may also be used if desired, or required by the building codes. Units of this character may be used for a variety of different purposes such as facing panels, counter or table tops, partitions, and so forth.

Another type of unit that may be used in much the same way is shown in Fig. 5. This one is made up of two plates of opaque structural glass 26 and 21 secured together in face to face relation by a layer of the special adhesive material 28, and provided with a metal edging 29 extending around the periphery of the composite slab. This particular unit has proved to be extremely satisfactory for use in stiles and partitions in toilet stalls. Still another kind of unit that can be usedin this same way can be produced by providing the unit of Fig. 4 with a second glass panel 22 secured to the opposite side of the board 23 by a second layer of the adhesive 24.

In this connection, the special adhesive backing has been found to adhere glass tightly to plywood, plaster, glass, paper and painted surfaces; and to cardboard, transite, steel, brass, cloth, brick, stone, and to the hardened surface of the material itself. Conversely, it will adhere any of these materials to glass, and under test conditions the bond between the particular material tested and the glass appeared to be as strong and as stable as the material itself.

In Fig. 6 there has been illustrated the method by which kitchen, bathroom and mirror xtures can be mounted onto the panel or tiles of a wall by means of this same backing material. In the drawing, a glass holder 30 is pictured as secured to a glass wall panel 3l with a layer of the adhesive 32 alone. The fixture 30 may be of either metal or porcelain and is preferably provided with a flange 33 so as to conceal the backing material. So solid and permanent a mounting does this provide that no unsightly screws, supporting brackets or other mechanical supporting means need be employed, and the in- 6 stallation has the added advantage of eliminating any necessity for drilling or cutting into the glass panel.

Fig. 7 illustrates another way in which the material may be employed as a backing for a glass article. In this case an ash tray 34 has been molded or pressed from a piece of structural glass and has then been provided with a base 35 of the special adhesive backing. The backing or base is applied to the ash tray in the same manner that the prebacking was applied to the panels ll and I4 of Figs. 1 and 2, and sets up into a smooth, resilient, rubber-like standard or base that is non-tacky but will not slip or slide on smooth surfaces.

It is believed that many other ways in which the adhesive material of this invention can be employed in the backing or mounting of structural glass will be apparent from the above, and

it is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as the preferred embodiment of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the Subj oined claims.

I claim:

l. A structural glass article and an adhesive backing on one surface thereof comprising a substantially solvent free mixture including essentially 55 to 60% of a partially polymerized polyfunctional mercaptan resulting from the reaction of an olefin halide with an alkaline earth sulphide and having substantially the following structure:

l0 to 15% of thermosetting phenol formaldehyde in liquid form, approximately 30% carbon black, and less than 15% of an accelerator to the total percentage of mercaptan, formaldehyde and carbon black.

2. A laminated panel comprising two sheets of material at least one of which is glass, and an interposed layer of a substantially solvent free mixture including essentially 55 to 60% of a partially polymerized poly-functional mercaptan resulting from the reaction of an olefin halide with an alkaline earth sulphide and having substantially the following structure:

10 to 15% of thermosetting phenol formaldehyde in liquid form, approximately 30% carbon black, and less than 15% of an accelerator to the total precentage of mercaptan, formaldehyde and carbon black, all bonded together into a composite unit by polymerization of the interposed layer.

3. A building block comprising, a cementitious body portion, a structural glass face plate covering one surface of said body portion, and a layer of a substantially solvent free mixture including essentially 55 to 60% of a partially polymerized poly-functional mercaptan resulting from the reaction of an olefin halide with an alkaline earth sulphide and having substantially the following structure:

10 to 15% of thermosetting phenol formaldehyde in liquid form, approximately 30% carbon black,

bon black lying between said face plateiarrdsaid body portionk and ,securing...the,former togthe latter;

4.'- A glasswallfpanel Vhaving a xtureproject-z ing outwardly'therefrom, and alayer of fansubJ-U stantiallyY solvent .free mixtureincluding .essen tially 55 to 60%ofxa partially `polymerized.polyfunctional mercaptanresultingffrom; the: reaction" of an `olefin halidewthxan alkaline; earth. sulphide and. having.; Vsubstantially the:v following' structure:

10 to 15 1 of thermosetting; phenol 'formaldef hyde in liquidfform; approximately 30%` carbon b1ack, and.less ithanI 15% of-an accelerator se,- curing said .xturelto'sad paneh GEORGE BWVATKINS;

REFERENCES CITED 'Y Thex.fo1lowing, references: are 5 of recordginthez- 8 UNITED STATES PATENTS.'

Number Name-- Date v 2,206,643 Patrick July 2, 1940 2,394,375 Gross Feb.Y 5,1946 2,466;963 Patrick et al. Apr. 12, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 166,159I Great. Britain May 13, 1937 48,977 France June; 28, 1938 (1st addition to 804,552)

OTHER REFERENCES Fiedler, Canadian .Chemistry and Process Industries, Augustv1944, pages 531-533.

Martin, pages 1144, 1145 and1149, 1nd. and Eng. Chem., v,October 1936.

Report on -AdhesionStudies LP-2 Compounds toAluminum, HL2-46.1, 7 pages, April 8, 1947, Thiokol Corp.

Thiokol LiquidPolymer ILP-2,. pages 1 and 16-.18, .published Octobery 13, 1947, by Thiokol Corp. 

3. A BUILDING BLOCK COMPRISING, A CEMENTITIOUS BODY PORTION, A STRUCTURAL GLASS FACE PLATE COVERING ONE SURFACE OF SAID BODY PORTION, AND A LAYER OF A SUBSTANTIALLY SOLVENT FREE MIXTURE INCLUDING ESSENTIALLY 55 TO 60% OF A PARTIALLY POLY- 